Step Inside Kapaleeswarar Temple

Feb. 5, 2013 5:48 a.m. ET

fullscreen

The 120-foot tall eastern gopuram, or tower, marks the main entrance to the Kapaleeswarar temple complex in Chennai, southern India. Ancient hymns, such as the Poompavaipathikam, say the temple was built in the 7th century BC by the Pallava dynasty. But its original location, some say, was on the seashore about a mile away.
Rakesh Mani…

An elderly Brahmin man, wearing a traditional dhoti and with sacred ashes smeared on his body, walked through narrow streets after offering early morning prayers at Kapaleeswarar Temple. The Hindu God Shiva is worshipped here as Kapaleeswarar and his wife Parvati as Karpagambal.
Rakesh Mani…

Kapaleeswarar Temple is located in Mylapore, a neighborhood in the southern part of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. Mylapore is also the birthplace of Thiruvalluvar, who penned the Thirukkural, a revered work in the Tamil language.
Rakesh Mani…

A Saivaite Brahmin priest, identifiable by his sacred thread and horizontal ash markings on his forehead, walked through the temple's courtyard.
Rakesh Mani…

During auspicious months, weddings are often held in the temple complex.
Rakesh Mani…

Young Brahmin priests-to-be chatted in the temple's courtyard after morning prayers. Senior priests train and mentor young men who wish to join the priesthood. They must live within the temple, remain celibate during their education and learn holy vedas, or ancient hymns, before they are allowed to perform ceremonies.
Rakesh Mani…

During a period of financial trouble, the temple found a willing patron in Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, the 18th century Nawab of Arcot, who offered land he owned nearby for free.
Rakesh Mani…

One condition for the Nawan's generosity was that the sacred tank on the western side of the temple would be declared out of bounds on the tenth day of the holy Muslim month of Muharram. On this day, the Nawab said, Shia devotees would bathe in the tank to soothe their wounds after self-flagellating in the Muharram procession.
Rakesh Mani…

The temple walls are marked with religious scripture, or shlokas, in Tamil script.
Rakesh Mani…

Mylapore, an old Brahmin bastion, is also the home of Carnatic music.
Rakesh Mani…